We ask the Ukrainian side not to replicate narratives with unsubstantiated statements - Deputy minister of foreign affairs Lasha Darsalia

Deputy Foreign Minister Lasha Darsalia responds to reports of smuggling and urges the Ukrainian side not to use "such baseless allegations" as a tool for disinformation and reproducing narratives.

He spoke yesterday at a meeting with a Ukrainian diplomat at the ministry, saying that the diplomat had no evidence to back up the allegations.

"We urge the Ukrainian side to provide evidence for these allegations, which were not presented at the meeting by the Ukrainian diplomat, although we were informed about the content of the meeting in advance," Darsalia said.

According to him, the Ukrainian diplomat was provided with the positions of the relevant agencies on this issue and additional explanations were given by the SSG.

"It is regrettable that we again heard such a statement from the Ukrainian side, especially in light of the fact that Georgia has officially requested specific evidence of the possible passage of the smuggled goods to Georgia. Such statements damage friendly relations between the two countries, contribute to the spread of hostile narratives against our country, and are detrimental to the country's security.

At the same time, the Georgian side asks the Ukrainian side not to instrumentalize disinformation and not to reproduce narratives with such baseless statements, which does not really serve the interests of our countries and our people and encourages external forces for additional provocations," Lasha Darsalia said. .

Executive Secretary of the ruling party Mamuka Mdinaradze said today that if Ukraine fails to present evidence publicly, they must denounce the "absurd statements" using the same sources and form.

For reference, on April 4, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported that the Russians were establishing a channel through Georgia to smuggle counterfeit goods. The Ministry of Finance responded to the incident and called it a completely baseless, absurd accusation. The State Security Service urged Ukraine to provide evidence of this or consider the statement to be premeditated disinformation.

Dmytro Kuleba made a statement today - we are waiting for evidence that Georgia is not helping Russia," the Ukrainian foreign minister said.